Firing pin arrangement for guns



R. w. HOAGLAND r-:r A, 2,135,005

FIRING PIN ARRANGEMENT FOR GUNS Filed June 20, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 'l Nov. l,V 1938.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 R. W. HOAGLAND ET AL.

Filed June 20, 1956 QN um., am. WN

FIRING PIN ARRANGEMENT FOR GUNS @Nw m Q. nw

Nov. l, 1938.

Je n (01d ega'fzald Mjaalglamd zerd, A

Quo: nu,

darZeJMJIze/v Patented Nov. 1, 1938 UNITE STATE SPATENT 'oFFicE mmc PIN ARRANGEMENT Fon. GUNS Alsplication June zo, 193s, serial No. 86,423

12 Claims.

The present invention relates to a firing pin arrangement for automatic guns, and aims to provide a novel and improved association of elements for controlling operation of the firing 5 pin, said fixing pin being of the spring propelled type.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a pair of sears for catching the head of the ring pin and holding the same against l forward movement during the nal closing of the breech mechanism, one of said sears being manually controlled by a trigger for disengaging the ring pin head and releasing the spring propelled ring pin, while the other of said sears l is disengaged by the complete locking of the breech mechanism in .closed position.

Another object is to provide an element movable with the lock of the breech mechanism for blocking out the ring pin so as not to engage the 4primer of the cartridge should the breech mechanism not be completely locked, and .for retracting the point of the firing pin from the indentation in the primer during the unlocking of the beech mechanism prior to ejecting the cartridge case from the gun.

A further object of the invention is to arrange they means for manually releasing the ring pin with the back plate of the receiver of 'the gun for preventing operation of said manual means when said back plate is partially or fully removed.

A still further object is to construct a head of a firing nin with a. sear catching portion oppositely arranged from a bearing portion for preventing bending or iiexing of the firing pin shank when said ring pin is retracted by engagement with a sear. A

Another object is the provision of a movable member adapted to be moved in the course of movement of the trigger element for preventing accidental operation of the trigger.

It is also an object of the invention to provide various control means of the character indicated for a ring pin of an automatic gun,

which are simple and substantial in'construction, which may be manufactured economically,

and which will be very eiiicient inuse.

' rWith the foregoing and other objects' in view which willbe apparent as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the construction and arrangement of parts, as vhereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes can be made `within the scope of what of the invention.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein- Fig. l is a fragmentary longitudinal section through the receiver of an automatic gun, showing thering pin in position to be released,

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the breech mechanism in its rear position, with the firing pin controlling element in position for automatic n ring,

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Fig. I, look ing down on the breech mechanism and the sears,

Fig. 4 is a cross-section on line 4-4 of Fig. 1,

and

Fig. 5 is a section on line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral I0 indicates a receiver, having opposite side walls II and a top portion I2, with a feed opening I3 therein. A guide rail I4 is carried by each side wall on which is reciprocatedly mounted a bolt I5 of the breech mechanism, said bolt carrying al vertical movable lock I8 adapted to be raised and lowered by an actuating member I1, also arranged to reciprocate in the receiver.

Attached to the forward end of the receiver I0 is a barrel I8, while at the rear of said receiver is a removable back plate I9 slidably carried by the side walls II thereof and adapted to be lifted upwardly when removing.

In carrying out the invention, the bolt I5 has a longitudinal bore 20 therein, extending from the rear end thereof to` a reduced portion 2l at the forward end of the bolt I5. Positioned in the bore 20 is a firing pin 22 having a reduced forward primer contact portion 23, which slides in the reduced portion 2l of the bore. Threaded in the rear end of the bore 20 and positioned about the body portion of the firing pin 22, is a sleeve 24 against which the rear to the rear of the lbolt I5. At each side'and vat the rear of the ring -pin head 28 are arranged a pair of rearwardly extending ears 29, each pair carrying a roller 30 which rides upon the upper surface of a rail I4. At the upper portion of the head 28 the forward face is angled slightly forward to provide a catch portion 3I, which is adapted to be engaged for controlling movement of the ring pin with respect to the bolt I5.

The forward face of the firing pin head 28 is off-set so that the lower portion of said face is forwardly of the upper portion, said off-set faces being connected by an angle-faced portion 32. These faced portions correspond to rear faced portions or a pair of ears 33 carried by the lock I6 and extending upwardly" tridge arranged in the .chamber of the barrel.

The ears 33 of the lock I6 straddle the extension portion 21 of the'head 28.

Centrally of the receiver between the opposite side walls I I thereof, and in the upper portion I2 is a longitudinal groove or recess 35, said recess or groove extending upwardly from the under side of the portion l2. A pivot pin 36 extends across the portion I2 of the receiver, and through the recess 35, and has mounted thereon for swinging movement a pair of sears 31 and 38. Both ofthe sears 31 and 38 extend forwardly from the pivot pin 36 and have catches 39 andY 40, respectively, thereon. A spring 4I is positioned between each of the sears 31 and 38 and the top of the recess or groove 35 for holding said sears yieldably in their lowermost positions.

On the forward end of the sear 31 is an extension 42 which engages an off-set portion or lug 43 at the forward end of the recess 35 for limiting downward movement of the sear 31. The extension 42 is adapted to be engaged by one of the ears 33 of the lock for raising the sear against tension of the spring 4|, the purpose of which will be set forth as the description proceeds.

The sear 38 has a rearward extension 44 thereon,which is provided with a slot 45 therein,

55j the forward end of the slot 45, the sear 38 will be permitted to swing downwardly and engage the head 4of the firing pin by means of the coil spring 4I.

On the Vupper portion I2 of the receiver adjacent 'its rear end is attached by means of screws, rivets or the like, 49, a housing 5I), having a slot 5I therein into which is positioned atrigger element 52 for forward and rearward sliding movement. The trigger element 52 has a forwardly extending portion 53 and a rearwardly extending portion 54 which overlap an opening extending between the recess 35 and the slot 5I. Through' the opening extends a`depending lug 55 of the trigger element, which has attached thereto the rear end of a rod 56, the forward end of the rod 56 being connected to the U-shaped member 41. A'pair of lugs extend downwardly from the top portion I2 of the receiver at opposite sides of the rod 56. and provide an abutment for the rear end of a coil spring 51 arranged about the rod 56 and has its forward end bearing against the U-shaped member 41 for normally holding said U-shaped member and trigger element in their forward position. The trigger element 52 has an upstanding ear 58 provided with an eye therein to which a cord or cable 59 is attached. Mounted on the housing 50 is a roller 68 under which the cable or cord 59 passes, causing the trigger element to be pulled rearwardly independent of the'line of pull on the cable or cord 59.

Pivoted in the rear portion of the slot 5I in the housing 50, as at 6I, is a bar 62; the rear end of the bar 62 is engaged by an extension 63 on the back `plate which holds the rear end of the bar 62 down against tension of a spring 64, thus holding the forward end of the bar 62 out of the path of movement of the trigger element 52. However, should the rear plate be slid upwardly for removal, the spring 64 would cause the forward end of the bar 62 to move down and thus prevent the trigger element from being moved rearwardly.

The housing 50 has an extension 65 to one side thereof that is grooved from the under side tov provide an opening 66 to communicate with the slot 5I in the housing. Slidably arranged in the opening'l'b` is one portion61 of an L-shaped member 68. The other portion of said L-shaped member extends upwardly and provides a handengaging portion 69. From the under side of the L-shaped member and extending into the portion having the hand-engaging portion -69 thereon, is an opening 16 in which is arranged a coil spring 1I which applies pressure on a ball 12. In the upper surface of the receiver over which the L-shaped member slides is a pair of small pockets 13 into which the ball 12 engages for holdingthe slidable L-shaped member in either'operative or inoperative position. A -screw 14 is threaded into the receiver for forming a stop to limit outward sliding movement of the L-shaped member. When the L-shaped member is moved to its innermost position, the portion 61 thereof is in the path of movement of the trigger element 52 so as to prevent rearward movement thereof, thus providing a safety device for preventing accidental rearward movement of the trigger element.

A small plate 15 is slidably carried at the upper portion of the housing 50 and has an opening 16 therein through which extends the ear portion 58 of the trigger element. With this arrangement vit canbe seen that the opening 5I in the Ahousing 50 will remain closed at all times, as the plate 15 extendsv both forwardly and rearwardly of the ear portion 58 thus preventing foreign matter from entering into the receiver of the gun through the slot 6I.

In operation the breech mechanism is closed thus feeding a cartridge into the chamber of the barrel. Upon closing of the breech mechanism the lock-actuating member I1 moves the lock to its uppermost locked position, and one of the extensions 33 of the lock, disengages the sears 31 from the head of the firing pin. The ugun is now in position ready to be red by pullingv the trigger element 52 rearwardly. 'I'he position just described is the same as that illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawings.

By pulling on the cable or cord 59 the trigger element 52 is moved rearwardly in the housing 50, which in turn causes the U`shaped member 41 to be pulled rearwardly due to its connection with the trigger element through the rod 56.

This pressure has been applied against tension of the coil spring 51. member 41 rearwardly the pin 46 carried by the opposite side portions of the U-shaped member, is moved to the rear small end of the slot 45 in the extension 44 of the sear 38, which causes the rear end of the sear 38 to be lowered and the forward end of said sear to be raised and thus disengage the catch 4| `from the head of the firing pin. The firing pin is thus moved 'forward by the spring 25 and the cartridge is red.

By continuing to pull back on the cable or cord 59 the sear 38 is held in raised position, and the other sear 31 will catch the ring pinl upon the inal closing of the breech mechanism and hold the same in retracted position until one of the extensions 33 of the lock I6 engages said sear 31 and pushes the same upwardly to Ydisengage the catch portion 39 thereof from the head of the ring pin. 'Ihus it can be seen that by continu ing to hold the cable or cord in taut position the gun will continue to fire, and as soon as it is desired to stop firing, the-cord or cable 59 is released, which will permit the spring 5`| to return the U-shaped member to its forward position and` the sear 38 to swing downwardly so that the catch 40 thereon catches the head of the firing pin and holds the same in retracted-position.

By having the forward face of the ring pin head and the rear faces of the extension members 33 of the lock I5 offset and the offset portions connected by angle portions, it can be seen that Vthe firing pin will be blocked out' so that the point thereof will not contact against the primer of a cartridge unlessV the lock is in its uppermost locked position, and that when the lock is withdrawn and moved downwardly Ain order to extract a spent cartridge case from the chamber the angle portions 32 and 34 will slightly retract the firing pin against Vtension of the spring 25 so that the point 23 of said firing pin iswithdrawn from the indentation in vthe primer.

The rollers 30 on thering pin nead will prevent ilexing or bendingsof the iiring pin due to thefact the head 28 of the ring pin is engaged at its uppermost portion, and will permit the ring pin to close very rapidly, thus eliminating faulty ring.

Due to the fact that the breech mechanism is reciprocated in the receiver at a very high rate of speed the safety bar 62 has been provided for preventing movement of the trigger element to the rear in case the back plate I9 has been par'- tially or entirely removed. Without this device and the back..plate removed and the gun fired, considerable damage would be done-to the party firing the as the entire breech mechanism would be thrown out through the rear end of the Having thus described our claim as new is 1. A ring arrangement for automatic guns, in combination with a receiver, a bolt mounted in said receiver for sliding movement, and a lock for locking said bolt in closed position; comprising a pair of sears pivotally carried by the receiver; a spring propelled ring pin carried by the bolt; a bead on said firing pin positioned rearwardly of the lock; spring means for normally holding said sears in position to engage the head of the firing pin at thenalclosing of the bolt to hold the ring pin against movement with the bolt; said lock engaging one of said sears to release the same from the firing pin upon movement of said lock to locking position; said sears engaging one side invention, what we By shifting the U-shaped of said ring pin head; bearing means on the opposite side of the firing pin head from that engaged by said sears for` contacting with a surface of the receiver; and manually controlled means for operating the other of said sears to release the same from the firing pin. n

2. A firing arrangement for automatic guns, in

combination with a receiver, a bolt mounted to the firing pin; said lock cooperating with one of said sears to release the same from the firing pin; an extension on the rear end of the other of said sears, having a cam slot therein, the forward end of said cam slot being enlarged; a manually controlled movable member engaging in the-cam slot for depressing the extension of said second mentioned sean-and releasing the'flring pin from said sear by rearward movement of said manually controlled movable member.

3. A firing arrangement for guns, in combination with a receiver, a breech mechanism slidably mounted in the receiver, and a closure member for the opening through which the breech mechanism is passed during assembly; comprising a firing pin for the breech mechanism, a trigger mechanism carried by the receiver for controlling operation of the ring pin, and a movable element held out of the path of movement of said trigger mechanism by said closure member when the sameis in closed position.

4. A firing arrangement for guns, in combina- `tion with a receiver, a breech mechanism slidably mounted in the receiver, and a Aclosure member for the opening through which the breech mechanism is passed during assembly; comprising a iiring pin for the breech mechanism, a trigger mechanism carried by the receiver for controlling operation of tthe tiring pin; and a pivoted bar yieldably held out of the path of movement of said trigger mechanism by said closure member" when the same is in closed position.

5. A firing arrangement for guns, in combination with a receiver, a breech mechanism slid- 'controlling operation of the firing pin;'and a bar pivotally carried by the receiver with one end thereof engaged by the closure member, and the opposite end thereof out of the path of movement of the trigger mechanism, and spring means for swinging said bar on its pivot when the closure member is moved from complete closed position to cause the opposite end of said bar to move in the path of movement of the trigger mechanism.

6. A'rlng arrangement for automatic guns, in combination 'with a receiver, a bolt mounted to reciprocate in said receiver, and a lock carried by said bolt for locking the bolt in closed positon; comprising a spring propelled firing pin carried by said bolt; ahead on said firing pin and positioned rearwardly of said lock; means for engaging and releasing said head for controlling operation of thering pin; and a shoulder on said lock cooperating with said head after release thereof by said engaging and releasing reciprocate in said receiver, and a lock carried by said bolt for locking the bolt in closed position; comprising a spring propelled ring pin carried by said bolt; a head on said firing pin and 'positioned rearwardly of said lock; means for engaging and releasing said head for controlling operation of the firing pin; a shoulder on said lock cooperating with said head after release thereof by said engaging and releasing means for .controlling position of said firing pin according to position of the lock, and a 'bearing on said head of said ring pin at the opposite side from that engaged by said shoulder for contactingwith a portion of said receiver.

8. A firing arrangement for automatic guns in combination with a receiver, a bolt mounted to reciprocate in said receiver, and a lock carried by said bolt for locking the bolt in closed position; comprising a spring propelled ring pin carried by said bolt; a head on said firing pin positioned rearwardly of said lock; means for engaging and releasing said head to controloperation of the firing pin; the adjacent portions of both the lock and ring pin head having oilset surfaces connected by angled surfaces thereon which are adapted to mesh when the lock is in complete locked position and the ring pin head released.

9. A ring arrangement for automatic guns, in combination with a receiver, a bolt mounted to reciprocate in said receiver, and a lock carried by said bolt for locking the bolt in closed position; comprising a spring propelled firing pin carried by said bolt; a head on said iiring pin positioned rearwardly of said lock; means for engaging and releasing said head to control operation of the firing pin; the adjacent surfaces of the lock and firing pin head having offset surfaces thereon which are adapted to mesh when the lock is in complete locked position and the ring pin head released; and angled cam surfaces arranged at the oiset surfaces of said lock and ring pin head for camming said ring pin rearwardly upon retractlng of the lock.

10. A ring arrangement for automatic guns, in combination with a receiver, a bolt mounted to reciprocate in said receiver, and a lock carried by said bolt for locking the bolt in closed position; comprising a spring propelled ilring pin carried by said bolt; a head on said ring pin positioned rearwardly of said lock; means for engaging and releasing said head to control operation of the firing pin; the adjacent surfaces of the lock and ring pin head having offset surfaces thereon which are adapted to mesh when the lockis in complete locked position and the firing pin head released; angled cam surfaces arranged at the offset surfaces of said lock and firing pin head for camming said ring pin rearwardly upon retracting of. the lock, and a bearing on said ring pin head contacting with a portion of said receiver and arranged on the head at a point opposite to the cam surface on said head.

11. A ring pin arrangement for automatic gunsfin combination with a receiver, amovable breech-bolt in said receiver, and a laterally movable lock for said bolt; said breech bolt comprising a ring pin; a head on said ring pin; and co-acting cam surfaces arranged on said lock and ring pin head for retracting said ring pin upon movement of said lock to unlock said bolt.

12. A ring pin arrangement for automatic guns, in combination with a receiver, a movable breech-bolt in said receiver, and a laterally movable lock for said bolt; said breech bolt comprising a firing pin; ahead on said ring pin; coacting cam surfaces arranged on said lock and firing pin head for retracting said ring pin'upon movement of said lock to unlock said bolt; and a bearing on said ring pin head engaging said receiver and supporting said head during said retracting of said ming pin.

REGlNAL-D W. HOAGLAND. CHARLES M. SHEPHERD. 

